Nearly all backlogged rape kits in test labs, Laxalt says

Attorney General Adam Laxalt says 95 percent of the backlogged sexual assault kits have now been sent to laboratories for testing.

The vast majority of the more than 8,000 kits were in the hands of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police which has now forwarded most of them to laboratories in several places around the West.

As of this month, 7,324 of the total 7,645 untested kits have been sent for DNA testing.

At this point, Laxalt's office said 5,467 have been tested resulting in 563 DNA matches and at least 13 arrests statewide. Through a combination of state funding settlement funds provided by the AG's office and federal grants, a total of $10 million has been provided for the program to eliminate the backlog that included some test kits from more than a decade ago.

Lawmakers in 2017 also approved legislation mandating new kits be tested within 90 days.